CONFERENCE 2024

Event Location: Theatre

Ronnie Dean Harris will open our event, laying the foundation of our days together and orienting ourselves to the land we are on. We will hear opening remarks from McKalia Ferguson, Arts BC President and Mayor Richard Stewart, City of Coquitlam.

Event Location: Theatre

Meeka and Ronnie will share stories and experiences in the works of setting tables, building stages and making offerings on the path of transformation(s). From inception through fires, floods and onto positive growth and capacity building, we look at the ancient works as part of our framework for walking, working, offering and responding to the grief and trauma from climate crises in a time of great transformations as artists and producers of events.

Ronnie Dean Harris aka Ostwelve (New Westminster), is a Stō:lo/St’át’imc/N’laka’pamux artist based in New Westminster, B.C. Beginning in music, he has explored various mediums such as TV, film, visual + sound design along side various research subjects including history, cosmology, genealogy and Indigenous policy. Ronnie is the current Indigenous Cultural Development Director at Massey Theatre in New Westminster working on various cultural + social activations through research and programming. He also sits on the board of directors for the 2 Rivers Remix Society and serves as the host/MC of events. You can also hear Ronnie as the voice of Dad/Walter on the PBS/WGBH series Molly Of Denali and seen on various other TV + film projects.

Meeka Morgan, M.A. (Secwepemculucw) is of Secwepemc and Nuu-Chah-Nulth heritage. She is an accomplished Artistic Director, musician, curator, and creative producer. Raised among orators and storytellers from both sides of her rich lineage, as well as within a vibrant community of land defenders, activists, artists, and musicians, Meeka developed a deep appreciation for the transformative power of stories, music, and creativity. These experiences inspired her understanding of how cultural expressions can rebuild and strengthen relationships.

Meeka’s Master’s thesis at Simon Fraser University, *”Making Connections with Secwepemc Family Through Storytelling: A Journey in Transformative Rebuilding,”* explored the intergenerational impacts of Indian Residential Schools on her father’s community. This work laid the foundation for her ongoing efforts to shift historical narratives and process these experiences through creative expression.

Meeka is the founder of the Indigenous music and arts movement, *The Melawmen Collective*, which is now a performing musical group. She also serves as the Artistic Director of the *2 Rivers Remix Society*,which features an all-Indigenous music and arts festival,  *The Movable Feast*. In addition, she curates and designs *The Confluence*, the festival’s annual education and activation conference. This groundbreaking initiative features interactive workshops led by top leaders in their fields, fostering cultural exchange and promoting contemporary cultural evolution.

Throughout the year, Meeka resides in the territories of her people, where she also develops alternative housing projects.

Event Location: Studio A

How do we centre shared values as the foundation of working together? Our work is often in collaboration with others whether inside our organizations, or in choosing which groups we want to work with as artists, board members, or arts administrators. Gaining clarity about your personal and organization’s values and making these the foundation of collaborations helps to create projects and partnerships that are authentic and sustainable.

This workshop will help you identify key values and guiding principles for decision-making and will provide a framework for evaluating partnerships of all kinds.

This session is co-facilitated by members of the Pathways team.

Allison Girvan (Nelson)  is an internationally respected Canadian singer who has been a featured soloist in performance and on recordings with ensembles ranging from jazz trios to full orchestra and is a studio vocalist for T.V. and feature film. She is known for her living sound installations, innovative choral direction, and cross-disciplinary collaborative projects. Allison’s artistic exploration spans genre, style and language, and is recognized for its unique approach to diaspora co-creativity and community building across cultural groups. Allison’s performances and human soundscapes promote collective voicing to nurture connection for times of increasing ideological division while exploring themes central to our shared human experience of climate emergency. Allison lives in Nelson BC where she continues to create, perform, record and teach.

Sidi Chen (Burnaby) is a diasporic queer artist, arts researcher, and independent arts administrator. With their practice deeply rooted in the relational aspects of human experiences, Chen’s interdisciplinary research bridges arts, nature sciences, and community development. After receiving their Master of Fine Arts from Emily Carr of Art + Design (2023), Chen is currently pursuing the Master of Art in Community Development via the University of Victoria, where they aim to deepen their understanding and engagement in arts-based community development. Sidi Chen is currently working and living on the Coast Salish territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations, as well as the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim speaking peoples.

Kia Kadiri (New Westminster) Kia Kadiri is a dynamic poet, musician, and educator whose infectious energy and enthusiasm inspire passion and excitement in all who encounter her. With over 30 years of experience, Kia has worn many hats—youth worker, vocalist, advocate—and she brings a unique blend of roles to every endeavor. Her artistry is a testament to her unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion, and her performances radiate joy and a deep dedication to community building through the arts.
Currently, Kia serves as the Operations Manager at The Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Surrey, guides organizations and individuals through the Pathways program with Arts BC, and stage manages events for the Recovery Day Vancouver Society. Her work showcases her exceptional ability to effect positive change and foster vibrant arts communities.

Event Location: Theatre

Respectful Relationships & Ethical Collaboration is a facilitated discussion using interactive exercises and ice breakers, communications tools, storytelling methods and lecture-style presentations to successfully share space and place with Indigenous populations – individually or collectively. Victoria invites dialogue reflecting on our existing / previous partnerships, engagement and recruitment practices with First Nations peoples, communities or organizations identifying barriers, challenges, and unsafe practices. She provides guidance and direction for organizations and artists looking for a way to improve or create safe, meaningful and respectful collaborations, relationships and partnerships in their engagement and recruitment practices for projects and programming. 

Victoria Jaenig (Penticton) is an award-winning Indigenous storyteller, media artist and producer who was recently recognized as one of Penticton’s Top 40 over 40 recipients and in 2014 named a Community Champion from the Okanagan Nation Women’s Awards for her work as a Producer “Utilizing Technology for Indigenous Knowledge”. Victoria received awards from Penticton Arts Council for Indigenous Arts Excellence (2015) and CHBC TV (Now Global) for Aboriginal Imagery (2002).
Tori presents on panels and leads or facilitates discussions and tells stories at universities, art centre’s, theatres, First Nation communities, conferences and festivals throughout B.C.. She’s produced over 30 short films, music videos, documentaries and informational videos and exhibited in group/ solo exhibitions and arts festivals for over twenty years. Victoria has toured parts of Europe, Western Canada and Northwestern USA in productions she performed in as a dance and theatre performer, wrote, directed, and/ or produced.

Event Location: Studio A

As we continue to face climate emergencies throughout the province, a relevant and functional Emergency Plan is a critical element of organizational infrastructure. Learn from peers who have navigated real life challenges. Through stories, examples and practical exercises, this session will help you gain an understanding of the key components that will keep your organization resilient when an emergency or disaster happens. Learn to identify and build relationships and coordinate with local government and emergency service organizations before an event happens to help your whole community stay safe – and then recover well.

Deb Borsos (Argenta) has been a visual artist all her life and has worked in emergency management and community disaster recovery in rural and remote communities for the past 20 years. After working locally, regionally and provincially to support communities through government, Deb is now supporting non profit, culturally based societies to become more resilient and better prepared for wildfires, floods and other natural disasters. She works provincially, nationally and internationally and is usually based out of her home in Argenta, BC in southeast British Columbia.

Join fellow conference attendees for group dining experiences at local restaurants. To reserve your seat at the table, please sign up here.

*Note: Dinner costs are not included in registration and delegates will be responsible for paying their own bill.

Event Location: Main Lobby

We will close the day with an evening of reconnection during our Social, open to all at the Evergreen Cultural Centre. Reconnect with colleagues, make new friends, and turn online connections into IRL (in real life) relationships. The concession will be open with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for purchase. Everyone welcome!

Event Location: Studio A

This space is upon request of Conference attendees and presenters who are part of Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour communities that wish to gather. This space is only for folks in these communities. Please pickup a light breakfast and meet in Studio A if you wish.

Other Conference attendees are invited to enjoy their breakfast in other areas of the Conference venue and are asked to please respect our collegues that have requested this time together. Please contact the Arts BC team at [email protected] if you would like to request that we schedule a time for a different group to gather.

Event Location: Theatre

Many things have changed since we last gathered, in this session we will co-create an understanding of where our sector is at and set the intentions for the days to come.

Carla Stephenson (Ymir) Carla’s work sits at the intersection of arts, systems change, rural innovation and amplification. She is the founder of the Rural Arts Inclusion Lab and the Executive Director of Renascence, a non-profit society in Ymir BC. She and her husband of 27 years Shawn founded the Tiny Lights Festival. Carla is a member of the Arts BC Insight team and an alumna of the Positive Deviants Fellowship, and is currently the director of the Pathways program.

She has presented at the Canadian Arts Summit and the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Conference sharing the innovations her organizations have made in equity and sustainability. Her facilitation work is grounded in creating conditions where emergence can happen through listening and collective story harvesting. She believes art plays a vital role in disrupting and getting to the truth of issues in subversive and overt ways. Carla brings to her work the lived experience of being a mixed-race woman of colour and mother.

Elliott Hearte (Vancouver) is an artist, arts consultant, and administrator with a background in equity in the arts and cultural management. Elliott has worked across Canada in leadership roles in the arts, and has had the privilege to work with artist run centres, festivals, distributors, community-based groups, and arts service organizations, across disciplines in urban and non-urban communities. She primarily works from the stolen land of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations and is the Executive Director of Arts BC. Elliott’s work is influenced by her lived experience of disability and gender diversity.

Event Location: Theatre

This plenary session will showcase sector leaders as they share innovative projects, new strategies, and stories of success & challenge. Despite the uncertainty and struggle in the sector, many communities, organizations and individuals have found creative ways to adapt to new realities, create new ways of working, and spotlight the power of the arts.

Shawn Stephenson | Preparation Builds Purpose/Care Creates Community Connection and communication among your event team, local emergency personnel, and local government regarding emergency planning builds trust and safety into your programming. In this session, Shawn will describe the steps his organization took to create a refreshed emergency action plan, and how that planning was instrumental in navigating a climate change-related emergency during this year’s Tiny Lights Festival.

Shawn Stephenson (Ymir) is a founder and the Creative Director of Tiny Lights Festival and Renascence Arts and Sustainability Society in Ymir, BC, and has been involved in arts programming and events for over 25 years. He and his partner Carla founded the Tiny Lights Festival in 2012, now a successful annual cultural event in BC. Through RASS he has created and managed many community arts initiatives supporting artists, audiences, and learners throughout the province. As an award-winning musician, composer, and audio engineer he has worked in many areas of the industry. He is also the owner and operator of Becoming Sound, a full-service recording facility, nestled in the mountains of his home town of Ymir.

James Darin Corbiere | The Truth in Truth and Reconciliation Board Game Arts BC members may remember an early version of The Truth in Truth and Reconciliation Board Game from the 2019 Arts BC Conference. In this spotlight, Darin will share the final product published by Medicine Wheel Publishing August 2024. The Game was created as a resource to help Teachers teach about the Truth in Truth and Reconciliation, has been exhibited in Galleries, and been played by thousands.

James Darin Corbiere (Cowichan Bay) is an Indigenous artist, writer and teacher from Wiikwemkong, an Indigenous community on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Darin is Anishinaabe (Indigenous people from the Great Lakes region). His spirit name is Waabshki Makwa (White Bear). Darin belongs to the Bear Clan. Darin drew upon his role as an Indigenous culture and language teacher to create “The Truth in Truth & Reconciliation” educational board game. He also created DED-C-Comics, the label producing his graphic novel and comic books series. In 2015, Darin embarked on a healing journey from church-related, childhood trauma. His technique of using ink on sculpted wood originated from a desire to connect with the spirit of each individual piece, which in turn, has a story to tell. It is in their creation that he has found a way to heal. Reconciliation is an emerging theme in Darin’s projects.

X’staam Hana’ax (Nicole Halbauer) | H.E.A.L. Healthcare: Weaving together Our Experiences Starting from the premise that healthcare is both an art and a science, the Hearts-based Education and Anti-colonial Learning in Healthcare (H.E.A.L. Healthcare) Project unlocks the potential of arts and humanities to confront oppressive healthcare biases, to understand patient experiences, and to humanize healthcare systems and cultures. H.E.A.L. Healthcare Research Manager, X’staam Hana’ax (Nicole Halbauer) shares the story of developing the H.E.A.L. Healthcare Learning Resource from an anti-colonial and relationship-based approach.

X’staam Hana’ax Nicole Halbauer (Terrace) X’staam Hana’ax is Nicole’s Tsimshian name, it means Victorious Woman. Nicole is a member of the Tsimshian Nation, Ganhada (Raven) Clan, of Kitsumkalum. Nicole is the Research Manager for H.E.A.L. Healthcare at the Health Arts Research Centre. She spent much of her career in health-related fields and knows from personal experience that practical decolonial and arts-based training tools are critical missing elements in most institutions in Canada. Both her education and political activism in social equity have led her to positions where she could focus on decolonizing and championing change in health-related sectors. Most recently this was as Interim Director at the Terrace Women’s Resource Centre, and previously as Interim Director for the Pacific Northwest Division of Family Practice Physicians. Nicole deeply values family and cultural connections and continues to work with her children and grandchildren to restore her culture through harvesting traditional foods, storytelling, and revitalizing the Smalgy’ax language.

Event Location: Theatre

Are relationships our greatest asset, key performance indicator, and linch-pin to the entire sector? With increased constraints in the arts and the need for deeper community engagement and representation in our organizations, the power of relationships is coming to forefront. This bold discussion will dig into the challenges of benefits of working in relationships that cross communities, cultures, and sectors.

Meeka Morgan, M.A. (Secwepemculucw) is of Secwepemc and Nuu-Chah-Nulth heritage. She is an accomplished Artistic Director, musician, curator, and creative producer. Raised among orators and storytellers from both sides of her rich lineage, as well as within a vibrant community of land defenders, activists, artists, and musicians, Meeka developed a deep appreciation for the transformative power of stories, music, and creativity. These experiences inspired her understanding of how cultural expressions can rebuild and strengthen relationships.

Meeka’s Master’s thesis at Simon Fraser University, *”Making Connections with Secwepemc Family Through Storytelling: A Journey in Transformative Rebuilding,”* explored the intergenerational impacts of Indian Residential Schools on her father’s community. This work laid the foundation for her ongoing efforts to shift historical narratives and process these experiences through creative expression.

Meeka is the founder of the Indigenous music and arts movement, *The Melawmen Collective*, which is now a performing musical group. She also serves as the Artistic Director of the *2 Rivers Remix Society*,which features an all-Indigenous music and arts festival,  *The Movable Feast*. In addition, she curates and designs *The Confluence*, the festival’s annual education and activation conference. This groundbreaking initiative features interactive workshops led by top leaders in their fields, fostering cultural exchange and promoting contemporary cultural evolution.

Throughout the year, Meeka resides in the territories of her people, where she also develops alternative housing projects.

Scotia Monkivitch (Brisbane, Australia) is a cultural leader living on the lands of the Jugera and Turrbal peoples, Meanjin/Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She has a broad range of professional experiences working in the community arts and cultural development sector nationally and internationally – training, mentoring, strategic planning, project management, research and facilitation. Scotia is the Founder and Executive Officer of the Creative Recovery Network, an Australian national agency working to develop and embed the vital role of community-connected culture, arts and creativity in Australia’s disaster management system. She has a creative background in movement-based theatre and performance that crosses through traditional theatre forms, installation-performance, film, live-art and on-line exchanges.

Kia Kadiri (New Westminster) Kia Kadiri is a dynamic poet, musician, and educator whose infectious energy and enthusiasm inspire passion and excitement in all who encounter her. With over 30 years of experience, Kia has worn many hats—youth worker, vocalist, advocate—and she brings a unique blend of roles to every endeavor. Her artistry is a testament to her unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion, and her performances radiate joy and a deep dedication to community building through the arts.
Currently, Kia serves as the Operations Manager at The Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Surrey, guides organizations and individuals through the Pathways program with Arts BC, and stage manages events for the Recovery Day Vancouver Society. Her work showcases her exceptional ability to effect positive change and foster vibrant arts communities.

Shay Paul (Kamloops) is a Secwepemc multi-media artist, graphic designer, facilitator, and community organizer who operates in unceded Secwepemc’ulucw Territory. In 2022 she founded the grassroots art collective, Indigenous Resurgence Project, to help support regional Indigenous artists. Shay has been an active advocate for artists and working to strengthen pre-existing foundations within the art community through collaborating with artists and organizations across the Southern Interior. She has diverse skills and experience coordinating several different scales of events and strives to learn more with every new project she is a part of. As an active artist in the community, Shay’s passion for working with and helping other artists drives her work in all aspects.

Event Location: Studio B

Our community is a wealth of knowledge – our greatest asset is our people (the people powering the arts). Use our handy app to book a chat with one of our speakers or sector resource.

Limited spots available. Book in here.

Patricia Huntsman (Nanoose Bay) is a two-time nationally award-winning arts and cultural strategist, policy writer and planner. She worked nationally and internationally in senior cultural sector roles, and is a sought-after voice on arts and culture-led community and economic development in Canada. After working with over 52 communities around the province, she holds a deep understanding of BC’s cultural sector context. She pairs this with a special focus on organizational assessment, planning and capacity-building for arts organizations stemming from her Masters in Business Administration.

Practice Areas Include:
• Organizational Assessment
• Strategic Planning
• Board Governance
• Cultural Planning
• Development & Marketing

Megan Lau | BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, & Heritage (Vancouver) is the Campaign Manager for the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, & Heritage. She is a Vancouver-based communications and marketing strategist with expertise in community engagement, content marketing, and grantmaking in the arts. She has dedicated much of her career to BC’s arts and culture sector, connecting artists with the tools they need to do their best work. Megan has led numerous arts- and social-justice-focused organizations and projects. Her work at STORYHIVE as the Senior Manager of Communications, Engagement & Equity facilitated new ways of connecting with and supporting screen-based artists from under-served and under-represented communities in BC and Alberta.

The BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage represents thousands of arts, culture, and heritage organizations in every region and more than 188 communities. This includes cultural businesses, venues, festivals, consultants, and independent practitioners, as well as tens of thousands of professional artists, cultural practitioners, and volunteers. Our unified and equitable approach to advocacy for the sector is a historic effort to foster more collaboration and communication.

You can ask me about:
• Arts advocacy                                        • Community building
• Communications strategy                  • Making film, television, books, and magazines
• Why cultural policy is important.     • Grantmaking

Peisen Ding | ArtStarts (he/they) (Vancouver) is the Education and Outreach Specialist at ArtStarts in Schools. In this role, they work closely with the Interim Executive Director to promote ArtStarts programs and lead professional development initiatives for artists and schools, providing guidance on grant applications and facilitating art projects to foster successful and sustainable collaborations. Peisen is also a mixed-media visual artist whose practice often explores urban relationships, such as interactions with other individuals and built environments.

Come learn more about the ArtStarts AIC grant and the new micro-credential course on bringing arts into schools!

Event Location: Art Gallery

Join the AGE curator for a drop-in lunch time tour of Cindy Mochizuki: stories best told at twilight. This event is free to attend and wheelchair accessible. Drop-ins welcome.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Some stories are best told at twilight. As the sun sets below the horizon and darkness emerges, the veil lifts between the everyday and the spirit realm. Supernatural creatures inhabit our world: haunting dreams and lullabies, appearing in the pages of legends and recounted through the memories of elders. This magic manifests in the whimsical storytelling of artist Cindy Mochizuki. stories best told at twilight focuses on the artist’s telling of Japanese myths, legends and folklore. Each artwork—which might manifest as a short animation, an elaborate installation or a singular performance—is the result of an abundance of images and objects that came before. This solo exhibition goes behind the curtain, taking a rare look at the artist’s usually hidden creative process and spanning artworks created over more than a decade.

Event Location: Theatre

Life is full of surprises, twists and turns that trip us up or enable growth and new opportunity. Our response to these challenges, as individuals and communities, is as varied as the context in which they occur. And you can be sure that the context is complex and forever changing. 

Arts and culture provide ways of sharing stories, connecting, reducing isolation, making sense of and preparing for the unimaginable, all essential for disaster preparedness and recovery. Our emergency services prepare for, fight and clean up floods, fires and tornadoes. We fight for, support and encourage laughter, dance, tears, music, touch, connection, stillness, participation, imagination and hope. 

Creative Recovery is a process of bringing new relational connection, meaning, engagement and challenge to our communities and the world of disaster management. It highlights the vital role we can play as creative connectors, leaders and responders. We envision a creative sector that is leading us in the activation of climate responsive practice, systems change to support resilient futures for all and the sustainability of culture and the arts as a vital component of our society.

About the Creative Recovery Network: 

The Creative Recovery Network aims to gather, critique, develop and share the knowledge gained nationally and internationally for engagement of the arts in disaster recovery, along with building training and support for creatives working in this field.

Scotia Monkivitch (Brisbane, Australia) is a cultural leader living on the lands of the Jugera and Turrbal peoples, Meanjin/Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She has a broad range of professional experiences working in the community arts and cultural development sector nationally and internationally – training, mentoring, strategic planning, project management, research and facilitation. Scotia is the Founder and Executive Officer of the Creative Recovery Network, an Australian national agency working to develop and embed the vital role of community-connected culture, arts and creativity in Australia’s disaster management system. She has a creative background in movement-based theatre and performance that crosses through traditional theatre forms, installation-performance, film, live-art and on-line exchanges.

Event Location: Studio A

It is important to take an honest look at our organizations and our capacity. In this hands-on workshop, discover more about thoroughly assessing your organization’s strengths and areas for improvement so you can unlock new potentials for a strategically sound future.

Patricia Huntsman Culture + Communication

Patricia Huntsman (Nanoose Bay) is a two-time nationally award-winning arts and cultural strategist, policy writer and planner. She worked nationally and internationally in senior cultural sector roles, and is a sought-after voice on arts and culture-led community and economic development in Canada. After working with over 52 communities around the province, she holds a deep understanding of BC’s cultural sector context. She pairs this with a special focus on organizational assessment, planning and capacity-building for arts organizations stemming from her Masters in Business Administration.

Event Location: Theatre

As of late the field of Disability Arts and Culture is gaining increased recognition within our arts sector. Arts Organizations of all kinds are working with and alongside disabled and mad artists, arts administrators, and cultural workers. This has many of us wanting to know how best to create accessible and inclusive arts spaces. However, practices of access and inclusion are often informed by white Eurocentric understandings of disability and have a difficult time accounting for the real-life messy and intersectional experiences of living in disabled and mad body-minds. This session will give you a starting point to understand some basic access principles, will open up conversations around why and how these have been failing our disabled and mad communities, and provide you with a chance to collectively brainstorm how we might creatively shift our practices. This session will be led by Jenna Reid, a professional artist and arts administrator who identifies as mad (amongst many other things) and has worked both in the field and organized within community for the past 20 years.

Jenna Reid  (Vancouver), Artistic Director of Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture. Jenna completed her PhD in Critical Disability Studies and has taught and done research at Toronto Metropolitan University, York University, University of Toronto, and McMaster University. Jenna’s work focuses on art as a site of critical inquiry, community organizing, and political activism. She has published in Canadian Art; Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Policy, and Practice; Journal of Progressive Human Services; Studies in Social Justice; and the Journal of Progressive Human Services.

Completing residencies with the Feminist Art Conference, Banff Centre for the Arts, McMaster University, Trinity Square Video, Jenna has exhibited in Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia. Jenna uses art to create ruptures, open up new lines of inquiry, encouraging people to turn away from the need to resolve and instead open up the transformative possibilities that happen when we render things problematic.”

Event Location: Studio A

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to turn your survey data into meaningful, actionable insights. We’ll begin by building strong “data values” that serve as the foundation for ethical and impactful data use. Next we’ll look into the 5-Point framework of communicating data effectively. All this knowledge will then be used to apply to a sample survey dataset, and we will collectively consider how to transform raw data into actionable strategies that drive positive change in your organization.

Meena Das (she/her/hers) (Vancouver) is the CEO, consultant, and facilitator at Namaste Data. Namaste Data is focused on advancing data and AI equity for nonprofits and social impact agencies. Namaste Data supports nonprofits in 3 core areas: data collection assessments, community surveys, and staff workshops on improving data & AI equity. With 17 years of experience in data, Meena specializes in designing and teaching equitable research tools and analyzing engagement. She leads her work with love for the community, respect for her lived experiences and knowledge from extensive experience of working with data.

Event Location: Studio B

Meet artist James Darin Corbiere in Studio B to demo the Game!

James Darin Corbiere (Cowichan Bay) is an Indigenous artist, writer and teacher from Wiikwemkong, an Indigenous community on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Darin is Anishinaabe (Indigenous people from the Great Lakes region). His spirit name is Waabshki Makwa (White Bear). Darin belongs to the Bear Clan. Darin drew upon his role as an Indigenous culture and language teacher to create “The Truth in Truth & Reconciliation” educational board game. He also created DED-C-Comics, the label producing his graphic novel and comic books series. In 2015, Darin embarked on a healing journey from church-related, childhood trauma. His technique of using ink on sculpted wood originated from a desire to connect with the spirit of each individual piece, which in turn, has a story to tell. It is in their creation that he has found a way to heal. Reconciliation is an emerging theme in Darin’s projects.

Event Location: Theatre

Join us to end the day with a focus on collaboration and finding solutions.

A World of Rhythm | Mohamed Assani: Calling all rhythm enthusiasts! Join us for an exhilarating journey into the intricate world of rhythm with renowned sitarist and composer, Mohamed Assani. Mohamed, twice nominated as ‘Instrumental Artist of the Year’ for the Western Canadian Music Awards, will guide participants through a dynamic exploration of rhythmic techniques drawn from Indian and Pakistani traditions, as well as his own genre-defying approach to music making.

Connecting the Dots: Sensemaking & Mapping Solutions Hidden in Plain Sight | Carla Stephenson & Elliott Hearte: Many folks are working on innovative solutions to sector-wide challenges. We are often working in isolation and cannot locate where our work fits in the larger picture. This session will map out and amplify many projects and initiatives and will help you locate resources, potential collaborators, and solutions to challenges you are facing.

* Sensemaking or sense-making is the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences.

Mohamed Assani (Burnaby) is a sitarist and composer, known for his genre-defying approach to music making. Trained in Indian/Pakistani classical music, Western classical music and jazz, his music-making seamlessly draws from different genres and cultures with depth and authenticity. Mohamed was twice nominated (in 2021 and 2022) as ‘Instrumental Artist of the Year’ for the Western Canadian Music Awards. Mohamed has brought his sitar to new audiences across the globe through innovative collaborations that have stretched the boundaries of his instrument. Career highlights include co-writing a sitar concerto that was performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, performing for his Royal Highness the Aga Khan, being invited to teach at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music, and performing for celebrity couple Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. In 2023, Mohamed’s music video Lullaby for Guli was nominated as a finalist at the Berlin FilmHaus Festival and was selected for screening as part of the International South Asian Film Festival 2023.
 

Carla Stephenson (Ymir) Carla’s work sits at the intersection of arts, systems change, rural innovation and amplification. She is the founder of the Rural Arts Inclusion Lab and the Executive Director of Renascence, a non-profit society in Ymir, BC. She and her husband of 27 years, Shawn, founded the Tiny Lights Festival. Carla is a member of the Arts BC Insight team and an alumna of the Positive Deviants Fellowship, and is currently the director of the Pathways program.

Carla has presented at the Canadian Arts Summit and the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Conference sharing the innovations her organizations have made in equity and sustainability. Her facilitation work is grounded in creating conditions where emergence can happen through listening and collective story harvesting. She believes art plays a vital role in disrupting and getting to the truth of issues in subversive and overt ways. Carla brings to her work the lived experience of being a mixed-race woman of colour and mother.

Elliott Hearte (Vancouver) is an artist, arts consultant, and administrator with a background in equity in the arts and cultural management. Elliott has worked across Canada in leadership roles in the arts, and has had the privilege to work with artist-run centres, festivals, distributors, community-based groups, and arts service organizations, across disciplines in urban and non-urban communities. She primarily works from the stolen land of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations and is the Executive Director of Arts BC. Elliott’s work is influenced by her lived experience of disability and gender diversity.

Event Location: Studio B

Our community is a wealth of knowledge – our greatest asset is our people (the people powering the arts). Use our handy app to book a chat with one of our speakers or sector resources.

Limited spots available. Book in here.

Pathways Program Team The Pathways program supports organizations as they tackle the challenges of implementing specific equity practices into their work, regardless of scale, geographic or historical context. It is an individualized process that focuses on turning learning into action. Expressions of Interest are open until October 16th for Pathways 2025 (January start). Come learn more about how this program could help build capacity in you organization!

Juan Ramirez | Arts BC Shared Services (Esquimalt) was born in the Amazonas region of Colombia. When he was 14 years old, his family immigrated to Canada as political refugees. Juan is a software developer, designer and musician, different skills which he combines to create digital collages and interactive installations. His artworks often explore the relationship between people and the digital world we have created around us, how it affects us and how we perceive it.

Tired of wearing all the hats? Come learn about the Arts BC Shared Services program! This program connects our members—organizations and artists alike—with affordable professional business services, simplifying administration and giving you more time to focus on the work that matters most to you. Born from a desire to reduce critical burnout across our sector and strengthen administrative capacity, this program includes one-time and ongoing specialized services in areas like bookkeeping, grant writing, and social media management.

Lucía Reguera Castro | Artist Legal Outreach (Vancouver) graduated in law in Spain, spending one year of her degree in Italy. After a project in Honduras and practicing law in Spain, she specialized in Intellectual Property. This led her to work with brands and later in music and audiovisual production at an independent record label, managing IP, music consultancy, and artist rights for films, TV, and marketing campaigns. She also teaches Intellectual Property in Spain and conducted research on music rights for an EU-funded audio branding project (ABC_DJ) with European companies. Lucía has spent the past two years in Vancouver working in the non-profit sector. She started at Pacific Legal Education & Outreach, where she began coordinating the Artist Legal Outreach (ALO) program. When ALO became part of Arts BC last year, she continued supervising the program.

Artist Legal Outreach offers free online or phone legal advice to low-income artists in BC, focusing on issues like copyright, intellectual property, and entertainment law, with support from volunteer lawyers and law students.

Join fellow conference attendees for group dining experiences at local restaurants. To reserve a seat at the table, please sign up here.

*Note: Dinner costs are not included in registration and delegates will be responsible for paying their own bill.

Event Location: Theatre

Grounding ourselves for our final day together.

Event Location: Theatre

This plenary session will showcase sector leaders as they share innovative projects, new strategies, and stories of success & challenge. Despite the uncertainty and struggle in the sector, many communities, organizations and individuals have found creative ways to adapt to new realities, create new ways of working, and spotlight the power of the arts.

Tanya Nielson | Succession: Building an Exit Plan for Current and New Hires There is always one person in an organization who does/knows everything, and no one can imagine running the place without them. But what happens when that person feels it’s time to move on? Tanya will share strategies for succession planning and challenge us to rethink our hiring practices, specifically how we consider an employee’s eventual departure right from the moment of hiring.

Tanya Nielson (Kamloops) currently runs the Kamloops Arts Council, and has worked in event management for conservation and sustainability conferences and projects around the world. If you ask her, she’ll say she is overeducated, under-financed, and that her best skill is being able to make almost any kind of pie.

MaryAnn Anderson | SmartGrant MaryAnn will provide a brief introduction of SmartGrant, a new interactive online tool designed for British Columbia artists and arts & cultural organizations to identify grant and funding sources. While arts funding information is widely available online, navigating these sources can be challenging for those who lack the time, capacity or expertise. Additionally, as grant programs become more competitive and their guidelines more complex, this creates even further barriers for applicants. Through an easy-to-use platform, SmartGrant interprets and simplifies funders’ guidelines into an individually tailored resource.

MaryAnn Anderson (Gibsons) has been an art administrator and consultant in the BC arts and cultural community since 1989. She has considerable experience in public fundraising and administered a municipal granting program for over a decade. As founder of Little Dog Creative Consulting (2005), MaryAnn has assisted hundreds of clients with grant writing and building their fundraising capacity. With an extensive knowledge and understanding of cross-Canada funding programs, she has built a comprehensive database of arts and cultural grant resources. This work has evolved into the founding of SmartGrant.ca (2024), a one-stop source for BC arts grants and funding information, and the only dedicated resource of its kind in Canada. This comprehensive and easy-to-use online interface, designed for artists and arts organizations, connects users to hundreds of potential funding sources to match their unique eligibility, creative projects and plans.

Joanne Finlay | Tsimshian Arts and Culture Society Joanne will share the work and story of the Tsimshian Arts and Culture Society and the community of artists it supports.
The TACS board and Tsimshian community recognize the interconnectedness of flourishing artistic practices with personal wellbeing; youth engagement; and the preservation of traditional governance models, cultural protocols and the Sm’algyax language. The Society seeks to create a sense of vibrancy and pride within the Tsimshian community anchored in cultural and creative practices.

Joanne Finlay (Prince Rupert) is situated on Tsimshian traditional territory with a background in Public Administration, Life Skills and Human Relations. Since 1996 Joanne has used her skills to help Indigenous artists and organizations in Prince Rupert and the surrounding villages. This work has led to a passion and talent in arts administration and includes project planning and coordination. Joanne has helped artists with developing their bios/ artists statements and has assisted with developing their portfolios and documenting their work. She opened a small agency called Mousewoman Consultants in the summer of 2018 and has continued her work in the community. Joanne has planted herself at the grassroots level to work in community development through the arts.

Event Location: Studio A

In a constantly evolving, complex sector and world, attempts to deepen our work, extend relationships, and more fully understand ourselves and others can easily (perhaps inevitably) lead to conflicts. This session will explore ways to create spaces where we can hold multiple perspectives and provide tools to navigate conflicts when they arise.

This session is co-facilitated by members of the Pathways team. 

Yun-Jou Chang (Richmond) is Executive Director of Cinevolution Media Arts Society, a grassroots women-led, migrant-run film and media organization dedicated to promoting independent art practice, interdisciplinary art forms and critical discourse on the complexities of cultural encounters and diasporic identities. Rooted in grassroots organizing, with a background in literature and social sciences, she situates her work at the intersection of art and community, and is drawn to stories that challenge, complicate and illuminate our relationship to society and to one another. As a cultural producer, Yun-Jou seeks to amplify alternative voices and experimental forms in storytelling and new media. She has been deeply involved in shaping mentorship, capacity-building, and community engagement initiatives both in and out of the arts sector since 2006. Yun-Jou currently serves as Chair of the Richmond Intercultural Advisory Committee and President of the Independent Media Art Alliance, a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada.

Carla Stephenson (Ymir) Carla’s work sits at the intersection of arts, systems change, rural innovation and amplification. She is the founder of the Rural Arts Inclusion Lab and the Executive Director of Renascence, a non-profit society in Ymir, BC. She and her husband of 27 years, Shawn, founded the Tiny Lights Festival. Carla is a member of the Arts BC Insight team and an alumna of the Positive Deviants Fellowship, and is currently the director of the Pathways program.

Carla has presented at the Canadian Arts Summit and the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Conference sharing the innovations her organizations have made in equity and sustainability. Her facilitation work is grounded in creating conditions where emergence can happen through listening and collective story harvesting. She believes art plays a vital role in disrupting and getting to the truth of issues in subversive and overt ways. Carla brings to her work the lived experience of being a mixed-race woman of colour and mother.

Ryan Hunt   (Victoria) is the Executive Director of the BC Museums Association and is dedicated to supporting the BCMA’s mission to further justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within the broader cultural sector. As cis, hetero-sexual, white male living on the stolen homelands of the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples, Ryan aspires to use his position of privilege to push back against the colonial institutions and systems of power that continue to oppress and fight for a brighter, liberated future. The BCMA is on the steering committee of the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage.

Event Location: Theatre

In view of the future development of a South Asian Canadian Museum in BC, conference delegates and members of the community are invited to this special interest session. Come and share your thoughts about how we may foster a culture of cohesion, to actualise a dedicated museum for people of subcontinental South Asian Heritage in BC. We also explore how traditional disciplines in BC have evolved in response to our economic, and cultural creative environments and how the future museum may embrace the ICA field, which attracts many young artists to BC. Together, we aim to identify key priorities for a balanced approach, that helps answer the intersectionalities within the South Asian diaspora with a focus on the growing yet underrepresented ICA market. Practising artists, Puneet Singh and Hriday Buddhdev share their respective disciplines in honour of BC’s intangible cultural heritage and its wealth of knowledge and skills, that have been passed from one generation to another.

This session is graciously supported by the Province of British Columbia and is free for community members to attend. Arts BC and the Bandish Network invite community members to join the conference lunch following the session. We look forward to welcoming you.

If you wish to attend this free session only (not register for the full Arts BC Conference), please register your name and lunch order HERE.

Nina Buddhdev (Coquitlam) is an independent curator of cultural arts, consultant, practising artist and, she is the founder of a 6.6K artist-presenter collective, the BANDISH Network. The network serves sub-cultural organisations and artists of Indus Valley and pan-South Asian disciplines, bringing forward a shared vitality through a sense of place and identity. With a prolific background, managing ACE’s revenue client agency, the AMC, and projects like the BBC Indian Proms, Nina is an expert in regenerating cultural programmatic contexts to relate to wider audiences for continued diversification and sustainable partnerships. Since moving to BC in 2003, Nina’s continued leadership has proven to imbibe a remarkable sense of confidence in BC’s cultural artistic communities, which today, see a significant increase in participation, receptivity, activity and rootedness in the BC arts culture ecosystem. Connect with Nina on LinkedIn to learn more about her current projects. Nina quotes “It is critical at this stage of BC’s diversity to do some unlearning and relearning of how we group ourselves and how we may manage the perpetual divides caused by systematic barriers and knowledge gaps. Through the adoption of our complimentary artistic visions, planned commitment and shared artistic pathways, we may create a cultural legacy that ensures its relevance for established and new artists across generations”.

(Bu-n’dhish – the expression of intertwined melodic emotions, bound by rhythmic cycles)

Event Location: Studio B

Our community is a wealth of knowledge – our greatest asset is our people (the people powering the arts). Use our handy app to book a chat with one of our speakers or sector resource.

Limited spots available. Book in here.

Darb Erickson | BC Arts Council (Victoria) is the Senior Director, Programs at the BC Arts Council.

The BCAC offers a wide range of funding programs, including:

Individual arts grants: One-time grants for artists, including young and pre-professional artists in all disciplines.

Project assistance grants: One-time grants for specific projects initiated by individuals, collectives and organizations.

Operating assistance grants: Ongoing support for B.C.-based, not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations and for-profit book publishers.

MaryAnn Anderson | SmartGrant (Gibsons) has been an art administrator and consultant in the BC arts and cultural community since 1989. She has considerable experience in public fundraising and administered a municipal granting program for over a decade. As founder of Little Dog Creative Consulting (2005), MaryAnn has assisted hundreds of clients with grant writing and building their fundraising capacity. With an extensive knowledge and understanding of cross-Canada funding programs, she has built a comprehensive database of arts and cultural grant resources. This work has evolved into the founding of SmartGrant.ca (2024), a one-stop source for BC arts grants and funding information, and the only dedicated resource of its kind in Canada. This comprehensive and easy-to-use online interface, designed for artists and arts organizations, connects users to hundreds of potential funding sources to match their unique eligibility, creative projects and plans.

Come learn more about SmartGrant, a new interactive online tool designed for British Columbia artists and arts & cultural organizations to identify grant and funding sources.

Scotia Monkivitch | Creative Recovery Network (Brisbane, Australia) is a cultural leader living on the lands of the Jugera and Turrbal peoples, Meanjin/Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She has a broad range of professional experiences working in the community arts and cultural development sector nationally and internationally – training, mentoring, strategic planning, project management, research and facilitation. Scotia is the Founder and Executive Officer of the Creative Recovery Network, an Australian national agency working to develop and embed the vital role of community-connected culture, arts and creativity in Australia’s disaster management system. She has a creative background in movement-based theatre and performance that crosses through traditional theatre forms, installation-performance, film, live-art and on-line exchanges.

Come learn more about creative recovery, advocating for the role of the arts in disaster management planning, and how creative practioners are working with disaster impacted communities.

Event Location: Theatre

Arts, culture, and creativity are key to the social and economic health of our communities, intersecting with nearly every other sector and fueling innovation critical to future-thinking and social change. And yet, Arts are positioned in our colonial narrative as an “extra”. Artists and administrators are operating in scarcity mindsets.

This panel challenges that tired narrative. It is a critical time for us to tell our story from a place of strength – arts as central to a creative, innovative, and healthy society.

X’staam Hana’ax Nicole Halbauer (Terrace) X’staam Hana’ax is Nicole’s Tsimshian name, it means Victorious Woman. Nicole is a member of the Tsimshian Nation, Ganhada (Raven) Clan, of Kitsumkalum. Nicole is the Research Manager for H.E.A.L. Healthcare at the Health Arts Research Centre. She spent much of her career in health-related fields and knows from personal experience that practical decolonial and arts-based training tools are critical missing elements in most institutions in Canada. Both her education and political activism in social equity have led her to positions where she could focus on decolonizing and championing change in health-related sectors. Most recently this was as Interim Director at the Terrace Women’s Resource Centre, and previously as Interim Director for the Pacific Northwest Division of Family Practice Physicians. Nicole deeply values family and cultural connections and continues to work with her children and grandchildren to restore her culture through harvesting traditional foods, storytelling, and revitalizing the Smalgy’ax language.

James Darin Corbiere (Cowichan Bay) is an Indigenous artist, writer and teacher from Wiikwemkong, an Indigenous community on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Darin is Anishinaabe (Indigenous people from the Great Lakes region). His spirit name is Waabshki Makwa (White Bear). Darin belongs to the Bear Clan. Darin drew upon his role as an Indigenous culture and language teacher to create “The Truth in Truth & Reconciliation” educational board game. He also created DED-C-Comics, the label producing his graphic novel and comic books series. In 2015, Darin embarked on a healing journey from church-related, childhood trauma. His technique of using ink on sculpted wood originated from a desire to connect with the spirit of each individual piece, which in turn, has a story to tell. It is in their creation that he has found a way to heal. Reconciliation is an emerging theme in Darin’s projects.

Ryan Hunt   (Victoria) is the Executive Director of the BC Museums Association and is dedicated to supporting the BCMA’s mission to further justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within the broader cultural sector. As cis, hetero-sexual, white male living on the stolen homelands of the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples, Ryan aspires to use his position of privilege to push back against the colonial institutions and systems of power that continue to oppress and fight for a brighter, liberated future. The BCMA is on the steering committee of the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage.

Rupinder Grewal (Vancouver) is grateful for the opportunity to live and work on the unceded, ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. Her work has immersed her in the world of professional communications, project management and advocacy. Rup’s appreciation for art and culture was born in the vibrant cultures of India, her ancestral home, which drive her to advocate for the arts and for those voices which have been historically underrepresented. She is an art enthusiast in every form – as a maker, collector and appreciator.

As the Communications and Program Director for the British Columbia Achievement Foundation, Rup works on province-wide award programs to celebrate the arts, specifically in the areas of First Nations art and applied art and design.”

Event Location: Theatre

2 Rivers Remix Moveable Feast is an incredible example of an Indigenous-led movement and festival. The event centres mentorship, relationship building and sustainability. Join us in conversation with Meeka Noelle Morgan to learn more about her work, the movement, and history and future of the event.

Meeka Morgan, M.A. (Secwepemculucw) is of Secwepemc and Nuu-Chah-Nulth heritage. She is an accomplished Artistic Director, musician, curator, and creative producer. Raised among orators and storytellers from both sides of her rich lineage, as well as within a vibrant community of land defenders, activists, artists, and musicians, Meeka developed a deep appreciation for the transformative power of stories, music, and creativity. These experiences inspired her understanding of how cultural expressions can rebuild and strengthen relationships.

Meeka’s Master’s thesis at Simon Fraser University, *”Making Connections with Secwepemc Family Through Storytelling: A Journey in Transformative Rebuilding,”* explored the intergenerational impacts of Indian Residential Schools on her father’s community. This work laid the foundation for her ongoing efforts to shift historical narratives and process these experiences through creative expression.

Meeka is the founder of the Indigenous music and arts movement, *The Melawmen Collective*, which is now a performing musical group. She also serves as the Artistic Director of the *2 Rivers Remix Society*,which features an all-Indigenous music and arts festival,  *The Movable Feast*. In addition, she curates and designs *The Confluence*, the festival’s annual education and activation conference. This groundbreaking initiative features interactive workshops led by top leaders in their fields, fostering cultural exchange and promoting contemporary cultural evolution.

Throughout the year, Meeka resides in the territories of her people, where she also develops alternative housing projects.

Ronnie Dean Harris aka Ostwelve (New Westminster), is a Stō:lo/St’át’imc/N’laka’pamux artist based in New Westminster, B.C. Beginning in music, he has explored various mediums such as TV, film, visual + sound design along side various research subjects including history, cosmology, genealogy and Indigenous policy. Ronnie is the current Indigenous Cultural Development Director at Massey Theatre in New Westminster working on various cultural + social activations through research and programming. He also sits on the board of directors for the 2 Rivers Remix Society and serves as the host/MC of events. You can also hear Ronnie as the voice of Dad/Walter on the PBS/WGBH series Molly Of Denali and seen on various other TV + film projects.

This session provides a foundational overview of three distinct, evidence-based approaches to reducing physical and psychological harm in the workplace: mental health first aid, psychological safety, and psychological health and safety. 

This session is sponsored by and in partnership with Actsafe Safety Association.

Dagan Nish (Burnaby) was active in community theatre throughout his childhood and has 14 years of professional experience in the motion picture industry. With a background in acting and teaching, he holds a BA in emergency and security management. He is also certified in psychological first aid, mental health first aid, and as a workplace psychological health and safety advisor. He has worked as an OHS consultant managing health and safety departments for several episodic series and an award-winning independent feature film. He has since completed his first year and a half as a safety advisor with Actsafe Safety Association. Since joining the organization, Dagan has spearheaded a new strategic initiative focused on workplace psychological health and safety. He also serves as a member of the Calltime Mental Health Champions campaign as well as ESTA’s new Mental Health & Well-being Management Working Group.

Event Location: Theatre

Drawing the threads and themes together in a final plenary session. Sharing ideas and goals for the sector in the coming times.